The Portland daily press., 1887-10-21
THE REAR WATCH.
Railroad Men Who Don't Like to Have
Anything Break.
The Red Lantern Pocket on a Buster
Ing Winter Night.
A Race for Life Between Brakeman
and Bears.

81 see that the officers have given sharp
orders TO you brakemen about going back on
the track with signals when anything hap
pens to stop your train" remarked PRESS
reporter to Maine Central brakeman.
"Oh, yes" said the brakeman, as he tipped
up a coupling link and seated himself on
the shortest end of 1t, 'they have just
issued such an order to remind us of our du-
ty, suppose; but they have always been
very strict about this. Whenever ANYTHING
happens to stop train the rear brakeman
has TO take his lantern and go back far
enough to stop any train that may be COM
ing along. He always does it, too, and such
an accident as that at Kouts's Station
couldn't have happened on the Maine Cen
trail.
:" Makes quick work sometimes for the
brakeman did you say? l guess it does.
NO dead man can be rear brakeman, and
sometimes the train will go off and leave the
liveliest one before he can get back from his
picket post when the train gets ready to 90.
The freight brakeman has the hardest time.
lie has to 60 back further and wait longer
generally than the passenger brakeman.
Take it in the winter, when the train gets
stuck In the drifts. All! then is the time
when the rear brakeman, whether freight or
passenger, enjoys life. He has to tumble
out into the snow, wade back far from the
IRAN ram ana then stick himself up in the snow
with his red lantern or red flag. 1t don't
make any difference how cold 1t is, how hard
IL SHOWS, or how much the snow blows in
around him. He can't go back to the train
to get warm, for while he is gone ''special'
OF a villa engine or regular train following
close after the freight may come along, and
missing his signal may go crashing into the
train. You know what that would mean
Sometimes the train goes off without him;
then ne has to founder to the nearest station
as pess ne can. Sometimes it is miles away"
DID ever know. brakeman to perish
when sent out on this duty? No; but tell
you OF one who had such a narrow escape
that he can't tell of it now without turning
white. You see he was braking down on
the New Brunswick road. over Oh the Blne-s
nose side of the line 1t is fearfullv wild
country down there in some places. all
stones, swamps and mosquitoes In the sum
mer In the winter Of the widest. dreariest
regions you eyer saw. 1t isn't much better
late IN the fall either. 1t was Just at dusk
one fall night that the freight on which this
fellow was braking broke down in one of
the l0nesomest places on the whole road.
Ihere was nothing but rocks and woods for
mile Inc break was bad one, and as he
ne made up his mind that he was in for a
long and tiresome watch.
But he was destined to come back sooner
tnat ne thought Tor. lie hadn't more than
got himself placed with his red light when
ne heard great scratching and snaring in
some bushes up the bank of the little cut
which the road ran through at that place.
Beasts, you know, are thick In that country.
and the first thing he though of was hears.
And bears it was, by thunder. Down they came
right at him. 1t isn't often that bear takes
after man, but there were two of them to
one Of him; and perhaps, too, the red light
attracted them. But he didn't have time to
think what it was that brought them. He
dldn Z remember any railroad rules either,
but .'dusted,' red lantern and all, up the
track for the caboose. The bears kept after
him, and don't suppose any such time was
ever made over that track before, even by
the Flying Yankee. He got to the caboose
about second ahead of the bears, bolted the
door, and then made plans to flee to the tor
OF the train. The bears, however, didn't at
tempt to storm the caboose. They smelled
around and then went off. But you can bet
that brakeman or no other went back to the
signal that night. A whole time table of
Trains might have come along and smashed
INTO that freight for all of them.''
II suppose a Maine Central brakeman
would have gone back" said the PRESS re-
porter.
Gone backl He would never have
"What?"
No.. sirl A Maine Central brakeman
would have been eaten at his INST coonar